February 21 is the International Mother Tongue Day in the world. Since November, 1999, at the initiative of the Ambassador of Bangladesh, February 21 has been marked as the International Mother Tongue Day.

The International Mother Tongue Day once again reminds of the event when on February 21, 1952, 4 students fighting for their mother tongue to be the official language were killed in Bengal city of Bangladesh. Thus, on February 21-22, 1952, as a result of the interference of the police with the protest held against the ban of the Bengali language in Pakistan, 4 people became martyrs.

Bangladeshi representatives appealed to set this memorable day as the Day of Mother Tongue in honor of the martyrs. At the UNESCO General Conference, February 21 was declared the International Mother Tongue Day, and the member states were told that on this day, events, conferences and seminars on the significance of the mother tongue should be held at schools and universities.

The International Mother Tongue Day, that has been set to protect the languages on the verge of extinction, reminds everyone that they have the right to feel the existence of their own language, develop it and be proud of it.

This year's International Mother Tongue Day is dedicated to the "Borderless languages" topic.